On 19 April 2017, Group for Legal and Political Studies (GLPS) held a Roundtable Discussion on the topic: “Four Years after the April Agreement: How effective is the political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia?”, held in Prishtina. The aim of this event was to discuss the achievements and challenges of the Dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia. At the beginning of the discussion, GLPS presented a Policy Note entitled ‘Association of Serb Majority Municipalities in Kosovo – Association Impasse’ which analyzes the overall path of the political dialogue between Kosovo and Serbia during these four years and identifies the challenges encountered during the implementation of the certain agreements reached in Brussels. Furthermore, the Policy Note addresses the current challenges of this process, its impact on the parties involved, in terms of trust, as well as the EU enthusiasm to continue further with this process. In the Policy Note, the author of the paper, Mr. Bajrami argues that despite the support from the international mechanisms for the dialogue process, the parties remain in political deadlock due to fact that the EU has not taken a more hands-on role in clarifying and implementing the agreements reached so far. On the other hand, Prime Minister Mustafa focused on the achievements of this process, such as the functioning of the Kosovo customs and the police in the Northern part of Kosovo, and reiterated the fact that the agreements reached so far are all in compliance with the Kosovo Constitution.  This dialogue that is being facilitated by the European Union has been promoted as one of the main objectives of the EU foreign policy, while both Kosovo and Serbia seem to have many disagreements with the objectives and the actual dynamics of this process. “We believe it is in the national interest of Kosovo, first, to solve open issues with Serbia through normalization of relations which we define as visible and sustainable improvement of relations aimed at improving the lives of people. Second, to improve relations within Kosovo between Serbs and Albanians in a mutually agreeable way. And third, to help Kosovo achieve progress on its European path”, stated Ms. Apostolova, the Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative. In addition, this roundtable analyzed the impact that this dialogue has had over the past years, in terms of building of a solid relation between Kosovo and Serbia. In general, participants had the chance to discuss the dialogue agenda and the Kosovo government strategy towards this process. This events gathered institutional representatives, member states ambassadors, field experts, civil society and media. To access the Policy Note, please click here.

Panelists:

Mr. Isa Mustafa – Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo;

Ms. Nataliya Apostolova – Head of the EU Office in Kosovo/EU Special Representative in Kosovo;

Mr. Agron Bajrami – Editor-in-Chief at Koha Daily and Author of the Policy Note.

Venue: Hotel Sirius (Castor Hall), Prishtina, Kosovo.